This woman had just punched Uchiha Madara. This woman had sent him flying across the river and through the forest without hesitation or fear. Hashirama could not believe what he had just witnessed first hand. At first he was shocked, then it made him want to laugh at such a scene. It was the exact same way she had greeted him, which was beyond amusing. Once he thought twice about the pain, he almost felt bad for the unsuspecting Madara.
As soon as she realized how off guard he was she smirked, feeling really good inside. She still had Chakra to fight and even though she knew in the end Hashirama obviously won against him, she wanted to take this chance to beat the crap out of the man who caused hell in her time. It was her time to show what she could do and to finally feel useful to those who she could no longer be with.
Madara lifted himself up, pushing the branches off as he did. What the hell had just happened? It took him a moment to gather himself before looking in the distance towards the two on the water. Hashirama stood there, seemingly lost in thought as his facial expressions changed. He then moved his gaze over to the woman with pink hair. He growled in annoyance, standing and trying to ignore the pain. He had to admit he never thought anyone could get the better of him so quickly in a fight other than Hashirama. She on the other hand proved him wrong, it was a bit refreshing. Madara readied himself, cringing at the pain from his broken nose, and rushed at her.
Sakura aimed a punch at him, missing when he dodged to the side. He smirked and gripped a kunai, stabbing her in the chest just above the armor. She grabbed onto his arm and kicked him in the abdomen as hard as she could, causing him to spit out blood. She then threw him to the side before pulling out the kunai, already healing herself. He regained himself and wiped the blood away. She took the chance to throw the kunai and follow to attack.
She suddenly stopped when everything froze, slowly but surely blurring. The area started to burn and the water disappeared, causing her to start to fall. Then everything started to turn black and she could hear screams coming from where the forest should have been. Sakura panicked at first but only because it had been so long since anyone pulled these tricks against her. She closed her eyes and released the genjutsu, only not in time. Hashirama grabbed her right when Madara attacked with his sword, cutting above her chest and releasing the chest armor. She could tell he was trying to create an opening for later, it was too plainly obvious not that she could analyze things quicker. If not for Mito she would not have enhanced that kind of skill.
He was analyzing his situation, that was certain. She could see him trying to figure something out, since he was probably low on Chakra. The two sides had been battling for a long time before the Uzumaki arrived so the battle had to be close to its end by now. Meaning he couldn't pull too many of his Sharingan tricks which was why he relied on the genjutsu.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu." Madara used his jutsu and aimed for the two before they could fully recover themselves.
"Mokuton: Mokujōheki." Hashirama created a wall of wood to block the small fireballs from hitting them.
Sakura looked around to see him starting to let his guard down as his Chakra depleted. She got an idea, immediately keeping her tone hushed to Hashirama so they could finish things off quicker. They both went around, throwing the last bit of kunai and shuriken available to attack. A very pissed Madara jumped up to avoid the attack and aimed for the two.
Sakura dodged, rounding a kick to him but missing. Hashirama came from behind to attack but Madara avoided just in time, causing him to stumble as he landed. Madara then went after Sakura, slashing as swiftly as he could. She was able to maneuver her body to avoid it but was struck through the heart when he changed it up. He backed up and made hand signs, along with Hashirama who tried to make his way to them both.
"Katon: Gōka Messhitsu." Madara blew intense fire at them both, forcing Hashirama to abandon his jutsu for the moment.
"Sakura!" Hashirama shouted in panic.
Madara smirked with satisfaction, ready to get back to his fight with his original opponent. Just as he was ready a hand grabbed his foot and pulled him under. He wasn't under for long before she punched the Uchiha out of the water. He flew out with such force it seemed almost impossible. He landed just out of the edge of the water as she came up for air and started to cough, getting out of the water herself.
"Took them long enough," she mumbled to herself.
Just before they went after Madara from behind the wood wall, she had Hashirama create a wood clone to fight so she could go under the water for an attack. It almost didn't work as she could barely hold her breath. Once she saw the wood clone start to burn she took the chance to go for it. She could see Hashirama had begun to reach his limits and he had a hard time staying on the water, thus making his way to the land.
She stood to go after him but she couldn't see Madara anywhere. He must have taken the opportunity to get out of there the moment she let her guard down. She looked around, trying to find where he could have possibly hid. There was no way he had already gotten too far away with how low his Chakra was getting and she knew he had to be in pain from the last attack.
"Not this time," he said from behind her, his sword piercing through her chest.
She looked down to see he had hit a vital point, causing more blood to pour out than usual. Healing oneself while battling is difficult as is and in her predicament, for any other person, was beyond horrific. But she was no ordinary medic and was about to lay her mark to show she was not the one to mess with. It was time to use her ace in the hole. She had to finish before anyone else ended up dying on the battlefield.
"Not this time for sure," Sakura whispered to herself as she smirked. The seal on her forehead parted upward to her hairline and downward over her cheeks on each side as her strength increased.
She grabbed the blade and slashed at it with an enhanced Chakra Scalpel near her chest, slid off and grabbed Madara by the collar. Her body was already healing the wound as she got ready to finish things. The look of pure shock, confusion and the hint of fear was extremely satisfying to her. She kneed him in the chest, lifted him up and slammed him into the ground. The impact caused the area to crumble and crack even more than it had from the previous battle he and Hashirama had hours ago.
"You didn't... kill him... did you?" Hashirama questioned with the same look his 'friend' had just a moment ago.
"Maybe," she huffed.
Hashirama made his way to Madara's side while Sakura backed away. She heard Tobirama yelling as the Senju had retreated from battle to go to Hashirama's side. It seemed as if the Uchiha did the same, both sides worried for their leaders. Miyo was following Uzashi and Tobirama closely as they gathered.
She healed a few people as they watched the conversation between the clan leaders. Right now they could easily kill Madara and be done with it, but because of Hashirama's kind heart he was already coming up with a way to make amends. She shifted her glance to see Tobirama had already tried to kill him but his brother wouldn't allow it.
She wasn't sure how to feel now. She had gotten most of her rage out in battle but seeing him still alive hurt. Instead she focused on healing the rest of Uzashi's injuries and looked around for more wounds. After making sure everyone else was fine she made her way closer to the front to see what was going on. Mito was already close enough to see and hear what was going on. Sakura could tell right away she was uneasy and worried.
"To kill your own sibling or commit suicide?" One Senju shouted in anger.
"What the hell are you thinking, you...!" Silence came as soon as Hashirama raised his hand.
"That man is crazy! What do you plan to do?" Tobirama ranted. "Are you going to kill me? Or do you want to die to follow this man's nonsense? It's foolish, don't listen to him..."
Sakura was too shocked for words. She wanted to say or do something but Hashirama glanced at her as if knowing what she was thinking. She stayed put and bit her lip, letting things play out. This was not how she had expected this to go and silently cursed him for not filling her in with details about what was to happen.
"Thank you, Madara. Indeed you're a sympathetic person." Sakura watched in shock as he actually took off his armor with a kunai in hand. "Listen to me Tobirama, these will be my last words. I'll give you these words in exchange for my life. All of you should listen. After my death, do not kill Madara." He gave a quick, somewhat amused, glance at Sakura; immediately making her irate to imply she had almost done so earlier.
"Mito-sama..." she whispered, glancing at the woman who was shaking. The look of sudden horror that she had was the first time Sakura had seen such intense emotion from her. "You care about him don't you?" Mito looked at her, swallowing hard as she nodded, unable to form words.
"Uchiha and Senju must not fight each other ever again. This also goes for our Uzumaki allies as well. Vow on your parents and grandchildren who are not yet born. Farewell," he smiled.
Her heart beat faster and faster, unsure what to do. Was he really going to kill himself? Or was it part of the plan? He never told her anything and she did not know what she should do, if anything at all. She held Mito's hand, not clenching quite as hard as the Uzumaki. They were both a little stunned when Madara jumped up enough to grab the kunai before Hashirama harmed himself.
"It's enough. I have seen your guts," he said before letting go from the pain.
Sakura noticed Mito's grip lightened as she let out a sigh of relief. She held onto Mito and took a sidestep closer to comfort her. Everyone was relieved to see what had happened, on both sides of the battlefield. As things calmed, the leaders began to settle things and called for everyone to gather themselves. Looking around Sakura caught a glimpse of Miyo who was holding tightly onto Uzashi. The loss was great and she could tell how much those two felt it. If only Miyo had not gotten on the boat to come fight with them, she wouldn't have had to endure this.
Madara gripped his chest in pain. It took every ounce of energy he had to speak without screaming out in pain. How was it possible for someone to have that much Chakra reserved? Especially to be able to keep up with Hashirama and himself. Even when he was low on Chakra it was difficult for others to be able to keep up yet that woman could.
He looked up at her briefly, watching as she calmed the Uzumaki woman. Even now she was doing just fine unlike everyone else. Just by looking at most of those around it was easy to tell they were in battle and harmed but she was perfectly fine. Even with her advanced skill he could tell she was not an Uzumaki. Her medical abilities were something he had seen from Hashirama while her strength was something he had never seen before. It was a bit intriguing to say the least.
He gripped onto his side and leaned over to try to relieve some of the pain. Hashirama bent down next to him to help him sit up. He glanced up to see Tobirama scoff and turn his head. Even with accepting the alliance, he and Tobirama would never see eye to eye. That man was the reason his brother was no longer alive.
"Your injuries are severe," Hashirama commented.
"Obviously," he retorted.
"You're going to need much healing..." He then mumbled something that Madara wasn't able to hear. "Don't worry, you'll be fine in our medics hands," he smiled.
She let go of Mito's hand and put her hands to her hips, watching Hashirama speak with Madara on the ground as Tobirama began to retreat with everyone else. He looked over at the two women as he passed, with a scowl. Mito made a 'hmph' noise in return. Hashirama waved and signaled for her to come over. She was reluctant at first but walked over there while feeling uneasy from Madara's gaze. He was still on the ground and barely keeping himself up enough to speak. He looked like he was in pain and continued to grab his chest. She must have hit harder than she thought.
"Sakura-chan," he greeted with a smile.
"I dislike you," she whispered only loud enough for him to hear as she passed. "What do you want?" He made a whimper-like noise before turning back to Madara.
"Well... since you are the only medic here you should probably heal him," he mentioned, rubbing the back of his head.
"Fix what I broke, is that it?" She smirked when Madara went from calm and collected to visibly aggravated.
She bent down and immediately started to heal his chest, figuring it to be the best place to start. After doing a quick examination through her Chakra, she could now understand why he was in so much pain. She was right, more damage was done than she realized. How he was alive was a very good question to ask. Luckily with her Chakra returned, she could begin to heal the life threatening internal injuries first.
"You should probably speak with Mito-sama. She could help heal you," Sakura said, glancing at Hashirama.
"That's right," he said in realization before waving as he ran off to see the red head.
Sakura tried to keep her composure and not show her emotions. Right now she focused on the task at hand. She was able to speed things up and begin to move to his shoulder. Some of the damage done by Hashirama was just as severe. She could see he was struggling with the pain and grunt here and there. Every time her hand moved a certain way or touched him, he would try to move away. She really didn't want to use her last pain reliever for this but she had no other choice. She pulled it out from her bag and quickly injected it into his arm.
"What the hell was that?" he practically shouted.
"It is going to relieve the pain," she shot back.
Madara didn't reply and only continued to let her heal him. It was still a problem when it came to talking but it was a bit more manageable. Her Chakra control was incredible, striking curiosity. What would the battle have been like had they been at full strength? He looked at her with interest, noticing she had been lost in thought. Without thinking, he used his free hand to move her bangs from her face and tugged them behind her ear, as it seemed to pose a bit of a problem to her.
"Arigato," she said with a little shock. He nodded in response.
"Your skills are impressive. I had never seen such fierce battling from a woman before."
"Is that a compliment?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'd say so," he replied with a side glance. "What is your name kunoichi?"
"Uzumaki Sakura." She repositioned herself and began to go over his back to make sure no more injuries had been made from the last smash.
"Sakura, eh? It suits you," he mumbled looking back towards her.
It was a bit awkward for her, sitting there healing and chatting with the enemy. This man was the cause of so much grief for her yet she had no choice but to make amends. It was so frustrating knowing she could do nothing more from now on. Was this how they all felt? Losing your family and then making amends while at the same time dying inside while knowing those who killed the people you loved were living happily. Living with the fact you could not get any type of justice or vengeance without causing trouble for yourself. She pushed the thought aside, deciding to dwell on it later.
"Where did you learn such advanced Medical Ninjutsu?"
"Why do you have so many questions?" she smirked in response.
"Is there a problem with getting to know your allies?" he chuckled.
"Why are you answering a question with a question?"
"Why are you doing the same?"
"Aw you two seem to be getting along," Hashirama interrupted as he walked up with Mito by his side. Both of them gave a glare, making him hide behind the woman.
"Sakura-chan, when you are finished we will be leaving for Uzushio to give a report," Mito said looking down.
"Hai Mito-sama," she nodded.
